While the ending of Avengers: Infinity War – which saw big bad Thanos use the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of the world’s population – was shocking, it was pretty obvious that our heroes were going to save the day eventually and bring back some of those who died. We just couldn’t work out how they would do it… Might they use time travel? Will Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel defeat the Mad Titan? As it stands, who knows.

But now, following on from earlier comments he has made Dave Bautista has reconfirmed that his character Drax and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy will appear in ‘Avengers 4’ despite himself, Star-Lord, Mantis, Groot and Gamora not making it to the end of its predecessor.

Screen Rant first reported that during an interview on Good Morning Britain on 31 August, the former wrestler got to talking about his future within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and said: “We definitely see more Guardians in the upcoming Avengers, which we’ve already shot.

Realising he should probably stop divulging such information, he awkwardly continued: “Oddly enough, I guess I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but I was already saying before Avengers 3 was released that I had already filmed [Avengers 4] and I was signed up for Guardians 3. So I must come back somehow… It’s comforting, but at the same time I felt a sense of guilt because I don’t know if I was supposed to say anything. And nobody told me not to say anything.”

Considering how hot Marvel Studios tend to be on making sure the cast don’t reveal potential spoilers, it seems rather bizarre that Bautista wasn’t told not to discuss details surround imminent instalments. Heck, it’s common knowledge that Tom Holland (who plays Spider-Man) wasn’t even allowed to read the whole script to Avengers: Infinity War because he proved himself a blabbermouth during the press tour for Captain America: Civil War.

Then again, it’s been known for quite some time that a third Guardians Of The Galaxy movie is in the works and it seems pretty safe to assume that it won’t just be about the adventures of last remaining members Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and Nebula (Karen Gillan). That being said, it’s not so certain these days if Bautista will even appear in the upcoming standalone outing, even if Drax gets resurrected or not…

Since Disney fired writer-director James Gunn after activists unearthed several controversial tweets he sent out years ago, Bautista has demonstrated unwavering support for the filmmaker. During an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show recently, he even went so far as to state that the idea of working with the juggernaut company is not something he’s very keen on anymore.

“There’s a bit of an issue. It’s a bittersweet conversation,” he said, when asked about the fate of the film. “No – it’s a bitter, bitter conversation, because I’m not really happy with what they’ve done with James Gunn. They’re putting the movie off. It’s on hold indefinitely. To be honest with you, I don’t know if I want to work for Disney… I’ve been very vocal about the way I feel. I’m not afraid to admit the way I feel.”